Guy Fighel

Practicing analytics well takes more than just tools and tech. It requires data modeling practices that unify and empower all teams within analytics, from engineers to analysts. This is especially true as AI becomes a part of analytics. Without a governed data model that provides consistent data interpretation, AI tools are left to guess. Join panelists Joe Reis, Sarah Levy, Harry Gollop, Rob Hulme, Shachar Meir, and Guy Fighel, as they share battle-tested advice on overcoming conflicting definitions and accurately mapping business intent to data, reports and dashboards at scale. This panel is for data & analytics engineers seeking a clear framework to capture business logic across layers, and for data leaders focused on building a reliable foundation for Gen AI.

Are AI code generators delivering SQL that "looks right but works wrong" for your data engineering challenges? Is your AI generating brilliant-sounding but functionally flawed results? The critical bottleneck isn't the AI's intelligence; it's the missing context. In this talk, we will put thing in context and reveal how providing AI with structured, deep understanding —from data semantics and lineage to user intent and external knowledge—is the true paradigm shift. We'll explore how this context engineering powers the rise of dependable AI agents and leverages techniques like Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) to move beyond mere text generation towards trustworthy, intelligent automation across all domains. This limitation highlights a broader challenge across AI applications: the need for systems to possess a deep understanding of all relevant signals, ranging from environmental cues and user history to explicit intent, to achieve reliable and meaningful operation. Join us for real-world, practical case studies directly from data engineers that demonstrate precisely how to unlock this transformative power and achieve truly reliable AI.

The data engineer’s role is shifting in the AI era. With LLMs and agents as new consumers, the challenge moves from SQL and schemas to semantics, context engineering, and making databases LLM-friendly. This session explores how data engineers can design semantic layers, document relationships, and expose data through MCPs and AI interfaces. We’ll highlight new skills required, illustrate pipelines that combine offline and online LLM processing, and show how data can serve business users, developers, and AI agents alike.

Hear from VC leaders, startup founders and early stage customers building on Databricks around what they are seeing in the market and how they are scaling their early stage companies on Databricks. This event is a must see for VCs, founders and those interested in the early stage company ecosystem.